My difficulty with the Tea Party is their selective defense of freedoms. Protecting the freedom of free markets has been a cherished American value since we recognized that markets ARE tyrannically manipulated by pathological greed, blind economic forces and blindly selfish men.
The tea party appears to be doubling down on failed deregulation that AGAIN resulted in market collapse. It suggests to me that defense of freedoms entails supporting sensible regulation that makes possible the freedom to market goods and services in capitalism's free markets. Risking over simplification, there has to be a State for me to have the freedom to participate by vote and there has to be a market for me to have the freedom to trade (yes ... buy and sell) goods and services. EOM